


Day Trip

by fightforyourwrite



Category: Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drunkenness, F/M, First Meetings, Meet-Cute, Taverns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:33:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23450269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fightforyourwrite/pseuds/fightforyourwrite
Summary: Due to the standards that Stefan and Leah held for their banquets, the castle was often buzzing with busy servants in the days leading up. There were pigs to be roasted, aspics to be jellied, and loads of luxurious libations to be gathered for the big bash.Essentially, it meant that everyone in the castle, even Stefan and Leah themselves, were too busy to notice certain things — things such as her royal highness Princess Aurora sneaking out for the day.
Relationships: Aurora & Phillip (Disney), Aurora/Phillip (Disney)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	Day Trip

**Author's Note:**

  * For [luchijelly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/luchijelly/gifts).



> This was a request from luchijelly (ao3) / kthlips (tumblr). The prompt request was:
> 
> "Prompt: Au where Phillora meet as adults in the village but they're not royalty just peasants feel free to change the details of the prompt it's just like a contrast to how they met in the film (secluded) and they meet more publicly and there's no curse"
> 
> I modified some parts of the prompt. I kept the "no curse" part, but Aurora is still royalty in this. Hope you enjoy it!

His majesty King Stefan and her majesty Queen Leah had a habit of throwing banquets and parties in their lavish castle. Besides, what else would one use a “banquet hall” for?

One reason for doing so was so Stefan and Leah could socialize with the leaders of the neighbouring kingdoms, boozing away on fine wines before settling down to dine. There was also another benefit, but said benefit wasn’t something that was obvious to the king and queen, nor was it obvious for most of the people in the castle. 

Due to the standards that Stefan and Leah held for their banquets, the castle was often buzzing with busy servants in the days leading up. There were pigs to be roasted, aspics to be jellied, and loads of luxurious libations to be gathered for the big bash. 

Essentially, it meant that  _ everyone _ in the castle, even Stefan and Leah themselves, were too busy to notice certain things — things such as her royal highness Princess Aurora sneaking out for the day. 

Escaping the castle wasn’t something she could do often. The life of a princess was one of honor and duty, meaning that her time was often filled with lessons, political meetings, and even more lessons. Whenever she would leave the castle, she would be accompanied by one of her parents, usually to meet the kingdom with her tiara on her head and with the title of  _ “Princess” _ before  _ “Aurora.” _

Not to say that she didn’t enjoy those outings as well. Aurora took her position as a princess seriously and understood the responsibilities and restrictions that came with the position. 

But yet, her monthly escapades to the village often gave her a sense of joy — similar to that of a pleasure of a dance or a hearty pull of wine. All it really took was convincing her parents and handmaids that she was sick for the day and she was golden. 

Despite there being laws against lying to her parents, Aurora could only hope that those were the kinds of laws she was exempt to. 

On one particular afternoon, hours before the latest bash, Aurora slipped out of the castle just as the servants began loading barrels of wine into the main hall. Shedding her royal gowns and donning a simpler dress made it easy for her to sneak by. With a shawl over her head of golden hair, she never felt afraid of being recognized as she walked amongst the crowd of servants.

For the next few hours, she would not be her royal highness Princess Aurora, first and only daughter of his majesty King Stefan and her majesty Queen Leah. Instead, she would be  _ “Briar Rose,” _ a mere peasant girl who wandered around the small village whenever the princess needed some time off.

Springtime in the small township felt quaint and simple. The sky was clear and the sun in the sky shined a light onto every inch of the land. In the streets, children played around without a care. The world felt bright while villagers were abuzz with news and gossip. 

Aurora walked around the place as she pleased. Every time she would visit, there would be something new to explore. Today, she saw things like a merchant showing off imports from far away kingdoms, an adorable young girl selling white-petaled flowers from a woven basket, and a wandering minstrel singing sweet songs to those who would listen. It would help if said minstrel knew what a key was though.

As Aurora walked through the town square, she couldn’t help but pick up on a trio of chatty women gossiping about King Stefan and Queen Leah’s latest bash, apparently some fancy prince guy from the neighbouring kingdom would be in attendance. 

News like that made Aurora roll her eyes. Often, those  _ “fancy prince guys” _ from other kingdoms ended up being rude, vulgar, and prone to rather questionable acts when under the influence of alcohol. She had met many of them in the past, usually out of obligation and not through her own choice. 

_ Oh, if only they knew, _ Aurora thought to herself, passing by the gaggle of gossiping girls with a small smirk on her face. 

Soon enough, Aurora found herself entranced by an unfamiliar, yet pleasant aroma in the air. It was a sweet buttery scent that wafted through the area within the springtime’s gentle breeze. When Aurora followed it, she found that the source of it was a bakery.

She couldn’t recall seeing the place the last time she visited, perhaps it was a recent addition to the other shops in the area. The windows seemed shinier and unworn, the lumber supporting the structure seemed stronger and more stable. 

Aurora made her way towards the building and slipped in through the open door. Once inside, she was greeted to the warmth of the wood-burning oven and the lovely scent of fresh bread. In the back, she could see one baker kneading a hefty chunk of pale beige dough, another one loading unbaked loaves into the oven, and the oldest one (presumably the owner of the establishment) explaining the finer details of his products to his customers. He spoke with a kind of confident pride, an assurance that his bread, out of all that could be found, was the best in the entire kingdom.

Clearly, bread was serious business within the walls of this bakery.

Aurora walked up to the main counter, where plenty of crusty loaves sat waiting to be selected by the next lucky buyer. 

Suddenly, amongst all the sweet scents of the bakery, she picked up on something different, a smell more pungent and stinging than everything else in the bakery.

A somewhat confused Aurora looked to the side. The source of the ghastly aroma was leaning against one of the bakery counters. 

It was a paunchy man, one maybe two decades older than her. He had trouble standing, as he used one of his hands to steady himself against the nearest counter. In his other hand, he was holding an uncorked bottle of wine. Every once in a while, he would raise his bottle to his lips and take a hearty gulp. 

Like a proper princess, Aurora kept a strong face on while hiding her increasing feelings of discontent. She focused on the array of bread against, as the sooner she selected a loaf, the sooner she could leave. 

“Why, hello there, Fair Maiden,” came a sleazy voice. 

Aurora sighed, as she could feel the Drunk’s gaze piercing into her like a finely-sharpened dagger. It wasn’t a particularly nice feeling. 

“Hello,” she replied simply. She hoped that a lack of interaction would make the Drunk lose interest. 

“Do you live around here?” the Drunk continued.

“No,” Aurora said, refraining from looking the guy in the eye. 

“Are you sure? Because I think we may have met.”

“And I think we may have not.” 

Aurora sighed and tried to walk to the other side of the bakery, trying to hide amongst the group of villagers there. Unfortunately, the putrid stench of a drunk followed her. It was like the guy was a vulture in a past life. 

She began to feel a panicky sensation swelling up inside of her, then adjusted her shawl so it hid her face more. She then started wondering if other people in the bakery were starting to notice the man’s action. The Drunk was practically beside her by now. 

Then unexpectedly, Aurora felt a hand touch hers. 

_ “There you are, my love. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” _

The voice was clearly not that of the Drunk’s, it was a lot deeper and softer. Aurora turned to her other side and was greeted to the sight of someone completely new. 

The new stranger was tall, had a head of neatly coiffed chestnut hair, and a pair of deep brown eyes. His hand was touching hers, but frankly, that was the least of Aurora’s concerns. She looked at the stranger with utter confusion, trying to comprehend the sentence he had just uttered to her. 

Then suddenly, it clicked in her head. Realization flowed into her, causing her eyes to widen as she nodded along. 

“Yes, sweetheart,” Aurora said, keeping up the ruse. Internally, she prayed that her acting skills would be up to par. She took the stranger’s hand and gave him a more friendly look. “I was just about to leave.” 

The Drunk let out a hum, which sounded more like a short loud groan. “So you are married then? But you aren’t wearing a ring…”

Aurora thought on her feet. “Yes, we are  _ engaged _ to be married. So we don’t have the ring quite yet.” 

The Drunk scoffed and glared at the Stranger, “What kind of man cannot purchase a ring for his betrothed?” 

“I don’t know, but clearly I should be taking advice from the drunk in the bakery,” the Stranger said in a dry tone. 

Aurora stifled a laugh, then reminded herself to stay in character. She cleared her throat as politely as one could and took the arm of her  _ “betrothed.” _

“We should get going, sweetheart.” 

“That we should,” replied the Stranger.

Then with their arms linked, Aurora and the Stranger exited the bakery, both clearly putting on the facade of normalcy. 

It was a miracle that said facade lasted as long as it did, because the second Aurora and the Stranger had stepped into the village square, they both unlinked their arms and broke out in a fit of exuberant giggles and laughter. 

Aurora couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear, so much so that her cheeks began to ache. Her heart was beating faster than it usually was, yet she felt as joyous as a jubilant jester. 

She looked over to the Stranger, who was chuckling like a fool, and said, “My goodness, how did you know that would work?”

“I didn’t,” the Stranger said. “I took a chance and got lucky.”

“Thank you,” Aurora lauded. At this point, her initial laughter and giggles began fading away. “I didn’t know how else to shake him off.” 

“No worries,” the Stranger replied. “You know how men are — they see a pretty girl, then suddenly the whole world needs to know of their raging… affection.” He laughed awkwardly, then gave her an honest smile and extended out a friendly hand. “My name is Phillip, by the way. And you are?” 

“Oh, my name,” Aurora spoke normally. “My name is…”

Then she caught herself. For the last few moments, she had forgotten about her usual ruse, she had been too distracted laughing and giggling to remember exactly where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. 

Aurora stiffened just a bit as she shook Phillip’s hand. “I’m Rose,” she introduced, trying to make herself look natural. 

It was only now when she got a better look at him. He was at least a head taller than her, and was clad in a dark brown tunic and even darker pants. She guessed that he was a peasant and she would probably be right, although his attire seemed just a bit cleaner and just a bit neater than everyone else in the village. 

“Well, Rose,” Phillip continued cooly. “I’m awfully sorry you had to witness something like that.”

“It’s okay,” Aurora assured, her voice remaining casual. “It was like seeing a pig in a pen... except up close.” 

Aurora then looked down and realized something — she was still holding onto Phillip’s hand. Sheepishly, she pulled it away and attempted to hide her embarrassment. 

“Is there any way I could thank you?” Aurora asked, doing her best to change the subject. 

“Oh, there’s no need,” Phillip said, shrugging his shoulders. “It was nothing, really.”

“I insist,” Aurora contended. Her eyes looked around the village square, scanning for anything that would catch her interest. Soon enough, she spotted the same girl selling flowers that she had seen earlier, which allowed a pleasant idea to slip into her mind. “How about this?” she asked in a lively, playful voice.

Phillip could only stand there and watched, looking on with a curious eye as Aurora approached the little one. 

Said little one was short, had a head of wavy brown hair, and a pair of bright blue eyes. When she looked up at Aurora, the two exchanged grins. Aurora handed the little girl a coin, in return, she was given a delicate, white-petaled flower. 

Aurora beamed at the little one and playfully ruffled the girl’s hair before leaving. When she returned to Phillip, she offered up the flower with a simple smile on her face. 

“Oh,” Phillip said, sounding the utmost flattered. He reached out and took the flower in his grasp. For a moment, he seemed just a bit tentative, then moments passed and he soon softened up. “Thank you.”

Aurora was practically gleaming at Phillip. “You’re welcome.” 

Internally, a part of Aurora began begging a question, one that was simple in theory, yet put a lump in her throat when she attempted to speak it. She never really got nervous like this before, but there was just something about Phillip and the way he spoke and the way he smiled that made her knees weak. One moment, she was a curious person exploring the village, the next she was a smitten young woman hoping her blush wasn’t obvious. 

“Uh… I suppose I should get going now,” Phillip said somewhat sheepishly. 

Aurora sucked in a breath and mustered up some confidence before speaking: “Actually, what are you doing right now?”

* * *

The afternoon went on without a hitch. The gallant and charming Phillip decided to accompany Aurora on her adventures in the village. It turned out that he was visiting from a neighbouring kingdom and was eager to explore the place. It excited Aurora to know that she had company during this excursion, as she was always alone by necessity whenever leaving the palace.

With Phillip by her side, the two walked through the main market area, where merchants stood at their stands to sell their goods. For example — there was a man selling wheels of holey yellow cheese, there was a farmer showing off fresh apricots, and there was even a jeweler selling intricate rings and earrings made with metals she had gathered from far away lands. 

Aurora wasn’t looking into buying anything, but Phillip thought differently. He purchased a pair of juicy apricots and offered one of them to her. She accepted it with a smile. 

As the two walked, they would talk to their heart’s content, exchanging stories about their lives. Aurora chose her language carefully, being deliberate in how she referred to her parents and how she described her home. Not specifying that her mother was a queen or that her room was one of many in a lavish castle helped her a lot. 

Despite Phillip only knowing her as Briar Rose, she managed to get along fine. She spoke about how she would visit her father in his reading room to chat, or take a walk in the woods whenever she needed to clear her head. 

Phillip listened intently and told some tales of his own. He still lived with his father and was preparing to take on the family business one day. He understood the importance of his duty, but before he resigned his life away to follow his aging father’s footsteps, he wanted to live it on his own terms. And thus, Phillip spent all of his spare time travelling to other lands or exploring the vast woods on the back of his horse. 

As the afternoon went on, Phillip and Aurora stopped for a late lunch at a nearby tavern. The place was dark, dingy, and quite crowded, but Aurora found it endearing nonetheless. It was certainly a departure from the large dining halls that she was accustomed to, but the barmaid had a friendly smile and the bard singing in the corner at least had an idea of what a key was. 

The two of them sat at a table in the corner as they enjoyed two heaping bowls of stew. The broth was vicious and brown and chock full of potato chunks, slices of carrot, diced bits of onion, and pieces of beef so tender that Aurora could cut them with the edge of her spoon. 

As she ate, she and Phillip talked some more. 

Phillip spoke about family. Apparently, he had thirteen cousins, most of which had filled his childhood with amusing stories involving various pranks. 

As he told the tale of the “goat prank story,” Aurora listened with an honest smile on her face. She felt like she could talk to him forever. Not once did she worry about running out of things to say. In fact, the only thing worth worrying about was running out time. To be brief, after a few hours of talking, she felt that she hadn’t succeeded in saying all the things she wanted to say to him.

After letting out a hearty laugh at the goat prank story’s conclusion, Aurora glanced out the tavern window and frowned. “Oh no,” she said, disheartened to see that the sun was beginning to set.

Phillip noticed her immediate change in demeanor. “What is it?”

“I have to go,” Aurora spoke sadly. She stood up from their table and grabbed her shawl, draping it around her head and shoulders once more. “I’m terribly sorry. Today was lovely, but I have to get home.” 

“Is it urgent?” Phillip asked, worried. 

Aurora nodded sadly. “Unfortunately, yes.” The idea that her parents would send an army to find her was very much  _ not _ an exaggeration. 

She began to walk off with haste in her steps, but after a few moments, she pulled herself to a halt and looked back at Phillip. When she did, he was looking at her with a troubled expression on his face.

“I had a great time, Phillip, I really did,” she told him softly. It hurt her to have to cut their time short, but duty called, and explaining it to him wasn’t exactly one of her options right now. 

“I really do have to go. Take care.”

And with that, Aurora left. She passed by the various patrons of the tavern and went out the door.

The village outside was basking in the orange hue of the sunset’s light. It would be a gorgeous sight to take in had Aurora not been in such a rush. 

The sound of the tavern door opening was heard beside her. Once more, Aurora turned around to see Phillip. He had just stumbled out of the building in an admittedly amusing fashion.

“I can walk you home!” he offered, almost tripping over his two feet to get to her. It took him a second, but he eventually straightened up. 

“I have to return on my own,” Aurora explained. Even she herself could acknowledge how vague that sounded. “It’s complicated.” 

“But when will I see you again?” asked Phillip, following her as she walked.

“Well… maybe someday,” Aurora said, seeming unsure of things. As much as she appreciated his company, she really had to shake him off. Her parents really didn’t need any indication that she had snuck out that day.

Phillip’s brown furrowed as he began to think. “How about next week?” 

“How about tomorrow?” 

It was the first thing that came to Aurora’s mind. Admittedly, she may have been thinking a little too impulsively. For once, she wasn’t feeling a pang of regret or remorse after blurting out something so abrupt. In her head, she began planning, factoring all the things she would have to do to sneak out once more. It actually didn’t seem too impossible once she gave it a second’s thought.

“I’ll be at the square in the morning, where that girl with the flowers was,” Aurora added on, halting her stride to face him. “Could you be there?”

Phillip thought for a moment, then nodded his head. “Yes. I could.”

Aurora felt relieved. Suddenly, things didn’t seem so complicated anymore. “Okay, I’ll see you soon, Phillip,” she spoke with a smile. Like the princess she was, she bowed politely at him.

Phillip seemed flattered and did the same, perhaps playfully mimicking her in a way. She didn’t mind.

“And I’ll see you soon too, Rose.” 

The name felt strange to hear, but Aurora pushed that feeling down in favour of maintaining her facade. Before leaving for good, she gave Phillip once last friendly look.

Soon enough, she set off back towards her father’s castle, ready to bear an evening of bowing to princes and nobles to embrace a tomorrow of this strange, handsome village man. 

**Author's Note:**

> I've actually always wanted to write Phillora just chilling in a medieval tavern. It feels very much like a D&D campaign, so I'm surprised I didn't add in a mysterious cloaked man to give them a quest or something.


End file.
